mutate

verb
mu·​tate | \ ˈmyü-ˌtāt How to pronounce mutate (audio) , myü-ˈtāt How to pronounce mutate (audio) \
mutated; mutating

Definition of mutate

transitive verb

: to cause to undergo mutation

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Other Words from mutate

mutative \ ˈmyü-​ˌtā-​tiv How to pronounce mutative (audio) , -​tə-​tiv How to pronounce mutative (audio) \ adjective

Synonyms & Antonyms for mutate

Synonyms

change, fluctuate, shift, snap, vary

Antonyms

plateau, stabilize

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Examples of mutate in a Sentence

a disease that mutates genes in humans a group of mutated genes Over time, her feelings mutated from hatred into love. opera singers mutating into pop stars
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Recent Examples on the Web

Drug-resistant infections kill 23,000 Americans each year and sicken 2 million, according to the C.D.C. As more germs mutate, the threat is growing. Andrew Jacobs, New York Times, "Spraying Antibiotics to Fight Citrus Scourge Doesn’t Help, Study Finds," 16 Aug. 2019 As language continues to mutate with the times, words like 'influence' become tarnished, used to describe any old John/Jane Doe with a few thousand Instagram/Twitter followers. SI.com, "Rinus Michels: The Most Influential Manager There Ever Was & His Total Football Legacy," 14 Aug. 2019 Partisan politics provides the oxygen to keep prejudices alive, mutating and more powerful. Dp Opinion, The Denver Post, "Letters: Target the employers in raids; Toni Morrison’s brilliance; Perfecting and weaponizing prejudice; Grateful architecture fan(8/12/19)," 12 Aug. 2019 There are more than 200 known driver genes in humans, the genes that when mutated increase cancer cell fitness. Megan Molteni, WIRED, "How a 6,000-Year-Old Dog Cancer Spread Around the World," 1 Aug. 2019 In a discussion afterward, the teenagers talked about how immunity slows the spread of diseases and how viruses — like their mock zombie plague — mutate and evolve. Liz Teitz, ExpressNews.com, "San Antonio camp uses science to ‘fight’ zombies," 21 July 2019 Yet efforts to develop a vaccine have been frustrated in part because the virus mutates so quickly. John Lauerman, latimes.com, "Johnson & Johnson is about to test an experimental HIV vaccine on thousands of people," 12 July 2019 Chapman was staring down an issue that’s vexed hundreds of policymakers before him: America’s beguiling network of messy fireworks laws, which seems to mutate and contradict itself every day. Luke Winkie, Vox, "Anime brings in more than $19 billion a year. Its artists are earning barely enough to survive.," 2 July 2019 This switch can direct cells against different targets on cancer cells, useful when cancer mutate to escape attack. San Diego Union-Tribune, "Scripps Research forges ahead with drugs for arthritis, malaria and cancer," 14 June 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'mutate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of mutate

1818, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

History and Etymology for mutate

Latin mutatus, past participle of mutare

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More Definitions for mutate

mutate

verb

English Language Learners Definition of mutate

: to cause (a gene) to change and create an unusual characteristic in a plant or animal : to cause mutation in (a gene)
: to change and cause an unusual characteristic to develop in a plant or animal
: to change into something very different

mutate

verb
mu·​tate | \ ˈmyü-ˌtāt How to pronounce mutate (audio) \
mutated; mutating

Kids Definition of mutate

: to undergo genetic mutation

mutate

verb
mu·​tate | \ ˈmyü-ˌtāt How to pronounce mutate (audio) , myü-ˈ How to pronounce mutate (audio) \
mutated; mutating

Medical Definition of mutate

transitive verb

: to cause to undergo mutation

Other Words from mutate

mutative \ ˈmyü-​ˌtāt-​iv How to pronounce mutative (audio) , ˈmyüt-​ət-​ How to pronounce mutative (audio) \ adjective

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